Book Cover for "Briarwood Cottage" by JoAnn Ross

Here is the finished book cover for the upcoming novella "Briarwood Cottage" by JoAnn Ross.  I painted the cover illustration back in October, and now the jacket design has been finalized!  JoAnn, with her usual kindness, has allowed me to post the image before the book has been released - indeed, before she even has it on her own website!

JoAnn Ross is a New York Times bestselling author with around a hundred books to her credit.  She currently has several projects in the works, and you can read all about them on her website.  I can tell you from personal experience though, that she is not only very talented and successful, but she is also an incredibly charming and nice person, with the most beautiful manners.  Working with her was an absolute joy from start to finish, and I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to have her find me, and then actually choose me to illustrate her book!

As I said, Briarwood Cottage has not yet been released, but it revisits a village called Castlelough in Ireland, which was the setting for a previous trilogy of JoAnn's, that begins with the book "A Woman's Heart".

A big thank you to JoAnn for making me a part of something so exciting - and another thank you to all of you who have taken an interest in my art!  :)

Cover Art for JoAnn Ross's Book "Briarwood Cottage"

Many of you know that I was recently commissioned to create the art for the cover of JoAnn Ross's upcoming book "Briarwood Cottage".  This was a huge honor for me, and a very fun and exciting experience.  Here is the finished painting:

"Briarwood Cottage"  Pastel on board, 11x14 inches
NFS
Other paintings available through Etsy

And here are some progress photos:

My initial sketch...

Here are a few closeups of the finished painting...

And the finished painting again:

I will show the finalized book cover and talk a bit about the book on my next post...

Thanks for looking!

:)

An update on the building of my art studio, with progress photos ~and~ my latest painting!

Here is my latest painting of a coreopsis flower and a maple leaf~

Pastel on board, 6x6 inches

Available through Etsy

Also - we have made some good progress on my art studio, and I though it was time to post a few photos!

Just getting started...

Getting ready for the floor...

Sub-floor and heating vents are in...

The first wall goes up...

The view out of one of the windows...  not bad!  :)

Wall number two...

Wall number three is up and number four is on it's way...

Those huge windows (7x7 feet!)  in the front and back were free!  We got them as salvage from my husband's work - they were remodeling and were going to throw them out!  We have been storing them for over a year - and I am happy to see them in place.  They will be wonderful!

Then the rafters for the roof...



After receiving my commission from JoAnn Ross for a book cover, we decided to add a little loft in the back of the studio.  It will be just big enough for a small mattress - perfect for reading art books - or a quick nap!  We have named it "JoAnn's addition".    :)
In the photo above, my husband is standing on the floor of the loft while he works on the roof.

The inside of the studio with my lovely, foggy view!



You can see the floor of the loft and the hole on the right side to climb up into it in this photo.  I am so very excited for it to be done!  My husband has been so wonderful fitting in working on it whenever he has a little time.  I know he will be happy to finish the roof and get out of the rain to start working inside!  :)